Railway car end structure



Nov. 29, 1932. H. w. JONES RAILWAY CAR END STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet lFiled Feb. 25, 1930 A TTORNEY Nov. 29, 1932. H. w. JONES RAILWAY CAR ENDSTRUCTURE Filed Feb. 25, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR. W V J M) KfiwATTORNEY 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IVIIIIIVIVII I1 H. W. JONES RAILWAY CAR ENDSTRUCTURE Filed Feb. 25, 1950 Nov. 29, 1932.

m Q u Patented Nov. 29, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY W. JONES,F WEBSTER GROVES, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO SANFORD INVEST- MENT COIvIPANY,OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE RAILWAY CAR ENDSTRUCTURE Application, filed February 25, 1930. Serial N0. 431,153.

This invention relates to the frame end structures of mine and similarcars. Usually such cars have side members and end members forming aframe. The end members are usually rigidly joined to the side membersand, in some cases, have asssociated with them other elements, wherebyan end structure is formed. In the present case, the elements thusassociated with the end member are a bumper and coupling means,including a coupling pin or similar element.

The object of the invention is to combine with the end structure meansfor supporting the coupling pin to allow horizontal movement of the pinon the end member of the car frame against yielding resistance.

In the form shown by the drawings, the frame end member whichconstitutes the major or principal element of the end structure is themajor element in the car frame end structure disclosed by Letters Patentof the UnitedStates, No. 1,486,547, granted to Hugh W. Sanford, March11, 1924; that ele ment being composed of an upright web or back andhorizontal flanges directed away from the side members, the end memberhaving its ends attached to the side sills by means of angle memberswhich are joined to said web and to the webs of the side sills.

In the forms of end structure herein described there is combined withthe main element a horizontally slidable member which supports thecoupling pin. With the slidable member is associated a spring or aplurality of springs which yieldingly resist movement away from the bodyof the car when a link surrounding the coupling pin is under strain awayfrom the car and parallel to the length of the car. Thereby the couplingpin is permitted to move horizontally away from the body of the car andindependently of the main end structure element. The range of suchmovement of the coupling pin is limited,

' as will appear further on.

In the form illustrated by the drawings, said horizontally slidablemember extends rearward of the Web of the major or principal endstructure member and a part of said slid- 50. able member extends abovethe major member and another part extends through said web into thespace between said flanges.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan of my improved end structure applied to the ends of theside sills of a car, said sills and end structures forming the carframe;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the structure shown by Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation looking at the structure of Figs. 1 and 2from the'left;

Fig. 4 is an upright section on the line, 4-4, of Figs. 1 and 2, lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line, 55, of Figs. 2 and 4;

Fig. 6 is a transverse upright section on the line, 6-6, of Fig.4,1ooking toward the right;

Fig. 7 is a 6perspective of one of the corner members use for oining theside sills to the end structure;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on the line, 8-8, of Fig. 4;

'Fig. 9 is an upright transverse section on the line, 99, of Fig. 4,looking toward the left, the lower part of the coupling pin being brokenaway and dotted, and the cushioning wood being omitted;

Fig. 10 is a section similar to Fig. 5, but including only the lowerpart of the coupling pin yoke and the adjacent walls, and showing twosprings instead of the one spring of Figs. 4 and 5.

Referring to said drawings, A, A are the ends of side sills of suitableform. In the drawings these sills are of channel-form with flanges, A1,directed outward.

B is the principal or major member of the car end structure. This hasthe upright web,

B1 (presenting a flat back face toward the body of the car) and an upperhorizontal flange, B2, and a lower horizontal flange, B3, both of saidflanges being directed away from the body of the car. Said flanges arerigid on the web, B1. The drawings show said flanges integral with saidweb; but they may be of separate pieces rigidly secured to the web byriveting or similar means. The corners of the flange, B2, are cut tomake slanting edges, B4; and the corners of the flange, B3,-

are similarly cut to make slanting edges, B5.

In the form shown in the drawings, said major member, B, is long enoughto partially overlap the adjacent ends of the side sills. Said memberand the side sills are joined to each other by means of corner anglemembers, C. One of these angle members is shown in perspective in Fig. 7of the drawings. One arm or blade of the angle member rests against theflat back face of the web, B1, of the major memb r, B, and is secured tosaid member by bolts or rivets, Cl, extending through said blade and theweb, B1. other arm or blade of the angle member extends into the spacebetween the flanges, A1, of the adjacent side sills and bears againstthe outer face of the upright web of the side sill. Bolts or rivets, C2,extend through said blade and said web to join said parts to each other.In the form shown in the drawings, nine such bolts or rivets, C2, areused for each blade. These corner angle members and the bolts or rivetsused for securing these angle members to the member, B, and the sidesills, A, are to be sufliciently strong to give rigidity to the frame.The web B1, of the member, B, is high enough to'allow making a couplinglink space above the bumper, as will be described further on.

The upper web, B2, has an elongated hole, B6, to receive the couplingpin or bolt, F; and the lower flange, B3, has an elongated hole, B7 toreceive the coupling pin or bolt. Both of said holes are on the sameupright axis and are elongated in thedirection of the length of the car.Normally the coupling pin or bolt is held in the rear part of saidopenings.

An inner or second member, D, of strong wood, preferably oak, is placedon the lower flange, B3, and against the upright web, B1, of the majormember, B. The upper and the lower and the inner faces of the woodmember, D, are straight, while the outward face of said wood membernearly conforms to the outer edges of the flanges, B2 and B3, and themajor member, B, the middle part of the wood member being extendedoutward a lit tle beyond said flanges to meet the bumper, E.

Midway between the ends of the major member, B, an angle-form anchorplate, D1, extends across the upper face of the wood member, D, anddownward between said member and the web, B1, of the major member, B,and is secured to said web by rivets,

D2. (Figs. 4 and 9). The horizontal part of the anchor member has anelongated hole, D3, to receive the coupling pin or bolt, F, to bedescribed further on, the elongation being in the direction of thelength of the car. Said anchor plate is only of suflicient width toreceive said coupling pin and be strong enough to assist in supportingsaid coupling pm.

A bumper, E, is curved and of channel- The form having an upright web,El, and an upper flange, E2, and a lower flange, E3. Said bumper memberis placed at the middle of the end structure and has its web, E1,bearing against the outer, upright face of the wood member, D, while itsupper flange, E2, overlaps the upper face of the lower member of theyoke, as will be described further on. The lower flange, E3, ofthebumper ext-ends slidably across the lower face of the lower flange,B3, of the major member, B. This bumper member is to receive contact orim pact from the bumper of another car. The

umper member and the outer part of the wood member form a bumper, thewood be ing a cushioning member or material against which the bumpermember rests. Space for a coupling link is to be left between'theflange, E2, of the bumper member and the upper flange, B2, of the or endstructure member, B. The upper flange E2 has an elongated aperture E4and the lower flange E3 has an elongated aperture E5, those aperturesbeing on the axial line of the apertures or holes B6 and B7 and areadapted to receive the coupling-pin which is to be ceived by the holesor apertures B6 and B7 and the elongated hole D3 in the anchor plate D1.In addition to allowing limited movement of the coupling-pin toward andfrom the car body, the elongated holes, E i and E5, allow limitedmovement of the bumper toward the body of the car. When the woodcushioning member, D, is compressed or is absent, such movement being anrested by contact with the coupling-pin when that pin is at its limittoward the body of the car. Furthermore, the coupling pin limitsmovement of the bumper away from the maj or member. And the enlargedapertures in the bumper, together with. the other enlargedapertures,normally allow the coupling-pin to move horizontally withoutdisturbing the bumper. Thus the coupling-pin is operatively related tothe bumper and the major member. Also, by contact and through thecoupling-pin, the bumper is operatively related to the major member andthe major member flanges are thus a part of the coupling means. Thus thebumper is operatively associated with the coupling pin-dependent uponsaid pin, controlled by said pin, and said pin is controlled by theother coupling members.

A feature of practical value is to be noted. Normally the spring orsprings, G11, will function to retard the outward movement of thecoupling-pin F; but if the spring or springs become broken or displaced,the functioning of the coupling-pin and the coupling link will not bedestroyed. Gutward strain on the coupling link will draw thecoupling-pin in the same direction until the limit of the elongatedapertures, above described, has been reached. Then the coupling-pin willbe held as would be the case if the yoke and the spring or springs wereabsent. Thus failure of the spring orsprings will not disable thecoupling structure.

011 the upper face of the upper flange, B2, of the member, B, is placeda reinforcing plate, F 1. Said plate extends from the plane of the rearor back face of the web, B1, to the front or outer edge of the flange,B2, and said plate, F1, is wide enough to receive an elongated hole, F2,through which the cou pling pin extends, the elongation being in thedirection of the length of the a, r, and wide enough to extend laterallybeyond each side edge of the upper arm, G2, of the yoke, G, describedfurther on. The plate, F1, is secured to the flange, B2, by means ofbolts or rivets, F3. (Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 9.)

A reinforcing plate, B8, is applied to the upper part of the back faceof the web, B1, and is a little wider than the width of the upper arm,G2, of the yoke, G, and extends downward to the plane of the upper faceof the anchor member, D1, and extends upward above the plane of theupper face of the reinforcing plate, F1, and is suitably secured to theweb, B1, by means of belts or rivets. (Figs. 1, 3, 4i, 5, 6 and 10). B9is one such rivet. This extends horizontally through the web, B1, andthe reinforcing plate, B8, and a frustro-conical sleeve, B10. One headof said rivet engages the outer face of the web, B1, and the other headengages the sleeve, B10. Thereby said parts are firmly bound to eachother. The rivet, B9, is in the upright longitudinal middle plane of thecar and in a line extending approximately midway between the bumperflange, B2, and the upper flange, B2, of the major member, B.

The coupling pin, F, is carried by the plate metal yoke, G. This iscomposed of an upright web, G1, and an upper horizontal arm, G2, and alower horizontal arm, G3. The arm, G2, lies flat-wise on the reinforcingplate, F1, and in a notch, G-fi, in the upper end the reinforcingplat-e, B8. The lower arm, G3, extends through a notch, G5, in the loweredge of the reinforcing plate, B8, and through a horizontal slot, B11,in the upright web, B1, and thence slidably between the anchor member,D1, and the flange, E2. of

i the bumper, E. The arm, G2, has a hole, G6,

fitting around the upper part of the eouplin pin, F, to prevent sidewisemovement. in any directiomof said pin relative to the yoke arm. Thelower arm, G3, has a hole, G7, for similarly receiving and holding themiddle part of the coupling pin, F.

It has already been described that the reinforcing plate, F1, and theupper flange, B2 of the major member, B, and the upper flange,E2, ofthebumper and the anch plate, D1, and the lower arm, B3, of the majormember, B, and the lower arm, E3, of the bumper have elongated openingsor holes through which the coupling pin, F, extends, and

wherein the coupling pin may have movement toward and from the body ofthe car. It will now be seen that longitudinal move ment of the yoke, G,will carry the coupling pin horizontally back and forth parallel to thelength of the car as far as permitted by said elongated holes. Whilesaid elongated holes permit movement of the coupling pin parallel to thelength of the car, they prevent sidewise movement of the coupling pin.This is one means of holding the yoke to movement parallel to the lengthof the car. The engagement of the upper arm, G2, of the yoke in thenotch, G4, and the engagement of the lower arm, G3, in the notch, G5,constitute another means forso guiding the yoke.

On the face of the web, G1, of the yoke which is directed toward theweb, B1, of the major element or member, is a reinforcing plate, G8. Arivet, G9, in alignment with the rivet, B9, exten ds through the web,G1, and the reinforcing plate, GS, and a frustro-conical sleeve, G10,and binds said three members to each other. That sleeve, G10, and thesleeve, B10, on the rivet, B9, constitute seats for the ends of anexpanding coil spring, G11. Said spring constantly tends to push theyoke, G, away from the major member or element, B, and toward theopposite end of the car. Thus said spring and the yoke tend to hold thecoupling pin, F, toward the web, B1, of he element or member, B. Acoupling link, H, is located between the upper bumper flange, E2, andthe upper flange, B2, of the major element, B, and surrounds thecoupling pin. l/Vhen said link is in engagement with anotner car andstrain is put on said link with suiiicient force to compress the spring,G11, the yoke. G, is moved toward or away from the web, B1, until. thepin, F, reaches the limit in said elongated holes. As soon as the strainon the link, H, diminishes or ceases, the spring, G11, expands andreturns th yoke, G, and. the coupling pin, F, to normal position. willnow be understood, the function of the yoke, G, and the spring, G11, isto cause gradual or progressive applying of strain through the link, H.This yoke and spring function when two adjacent cars tend to se 'iaratefrom each other. The bumper, E, is to function when two cars are incontact with each other or are driven against each other.

Now it will be observed that this end structure constitutes a part ofthe car frame and also includes bumper means and a yielding couplingmeans. And it will be seen that the several members of this endstructure are interrelated and inter-dependent and co-operative.

In Fig. 10, two springs, G11, and two sets of rivets, G9 and B9, areshown.

It is to be noted that, while my improved end structure is applicable tomine cars of various sizes, its features are especially neeeed in largemine cars, strains being larger in such cars.

I claim as my invention,

1. In a car frame end structure, the combination of a major elementadapted to have its ends joined to the side members of the frame andhaving an upright web and hori- Zontal flanges directed away from thebody of the frame and said flanges being apertured on an upright axisfor receiving a couplingpin and permitting limited movement of said pinin the direction of the length of said frame, a coupling-pin supportingyoke having an arm extending slidably through said web and havinganother arm extending above the upper of said flanges and said armshaving apertures in alignment with said flange apertures, and a springin enga ement with said web and said yoke for yieldingly resistingmovement of said yoke away from the car frame.

2. In a car end structure, the combination of relatively stationarymembers including a horizontal flanged bumper, said members having on anupright line apertures large enough to receive a coupling pin and permitlimited movement of said pin in the direction of the length of the car,means transverse to the end structure and extending rearward of themajor element of the end structure and movable in the direction of thelength of the car and apertured to receive the coupling pin, andyielding means located between said rearward extension and the rear ofthe major element and acting to normally move said movable means towardthe body of the car and thereby hold the coupling pin at its limittoward the body of the car.

3. In a car frame end structure, the combination of a major elementadapted to have its ends joined to the side members of the frame andapertured for receiving a conpling-pin and guiding and limiting movementof said pin in the direction. of the length of said frame, coupling-pinsupporting means transverse to and extending rearward of said majorelement and movable transversely to said major element and beingapertured in upright alignment with the major element apertures forreceiving and carrying a coupling-pin, and yielding means at the rear ofthe major element and in operative relation with said supporting meansfor yieldingly resisting movement of said supporting means away from thebody of said. frame.

4:. In a car frame end structure, the combination of a transverse metalmeans having an upright wall and upper and lower hori zontal flangesdirected away from the car, a bump resisting and cushioning meansresting on the lower of said horizontal flanges, a flanged metal bumpermember having an upright bumping face and having the flanged partdirected toward the car frame and overlapping at least a part of saidcushioning means and the flanged part of said bumper member and theflanges of the transverse metal means being apertured on a commonupright axis to receive a coupling pin and larger in the direction ofthe length of the car than the diameter of a coupling pin, a couplingpin supporting means having two spaced-apart horizontal arms above thecushioning means and approximately parallel to the length of the car andsaid arms being apertured for a coupling pin on the same upright axis asthe first mentioned apertures, a coupling pin through all saidapertures, and spring means positioned for yieldingly resisting movementof the coupling pin supporting means away from the car.

In a car frame end structure, the combination of a transverse horizontalmajor element of hannel-shape having an upright web and upper and lowerhorizontal flanges directed away from the car frame, a horizontal bumpern ember having upper and lower horizontal flanges directed toward thecar frame, the lower bumper member flange overlapping the lower majorelement flange and the upper bumper member flange extending into thisspace between said major element flanges the said major element flangesand sale bumper member flanges being apertured on an upright axis toreceive a coupling pin said apertures being larger in the direction ofthe length of the car than the diameter of the coupling pin, a couplingpin supporting member having two arms approximately parallel. to theflanges of said major element, the arms of said supporting member beingapertured on the same axial line as the first mentioned axial line toreceive a coupling pin, a coupling pin through all said apertures, andspring means positioned for yieldingly resisting movement of thecoupling pin supporting means away from the car.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, this 18th day of February,in the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty.

HARRY w. JONES.

